How to Climb Bidean nam Bian: Glen Coe's Highest Peak

Bidean nam Bian is the highest mountain in Glen Coe at 1,150 metres — and one of the most complex. It hides behind the famous Three Sisters that wall the south side of the glen, so most people drive beneath it without realising the peak they can see from the road is only a spur. Behind that facade lies a tangle of ridges, corries and tops that makes Bidean a serious, rewarding mountain day.

The approaches from Glen Coe

Both main routes start from the A82 in the heart of Glen Coe and climb between the Three Sisters. The Coire Gabhail approach goes up the hidden "Lost Valley" — a flat, boulder-strewn sanctuary between Gearr Aonach and Beinn Fhada — before a steep pull to the ridge. The Coire nan Lochan route climbs a magnificent crag-rimmed corrie to the west. The Munros app lists the routes and their distances; either makes a full mountain day of six to eight hours, and the two can be linked into a circuit.

Two Munros in one round

Bidean is usually climbed together with its neighbour Stob Coire Sgreamhach (1,072m), the two joined by a fine high ridge above the Lost Valley. Bagging both in a single horseshoe is the classic outing, but it commits you to a long, rough day with a lot of ascent and descent on steep, complex ground.

A serious mountain — treat it as one

Bidean is graded a serious undertaking for good reason. The ground is steep, the ridges are narrow in places with short sections of scrambling, and the corries funnel you onto crags if you drift off line. Navigation is genuinely hard in cloud — the summit is a meeting point of several ridges that all look plausible. In winter it becomes a full mountaineering objective with cornices and avalanche-prone slopes, and it has a long history of accidents. Read our Glen Coe and Ben Nevis guide for the wider area, and be honest about the conditions before you commit.

When to go and what to pack

Bidean is at its best from late spring through autumn, when the rock is dry and the corries clear. In winter save it for when you have the skills and kit of a winter round. Carry a map and compass you can use, warm layers, waterproofs, food and a headtorch, and check the mountain forecast — Glen Coe catches the weather straight off the Atlantic.

Related guides

• Munro bagging in Glen Coe and Ben Nevis — the wider area
• Navigation skills for Scottish mountains — essential on Bidean
• Glen Coe Munros — every peak in the region